Brassiere



Feb. 14, 1961 P. J. STI-:INMETZ BRASSIERE Filed April 13, 1959 INVENTOR.H f/wL J. Srs/NMe-rz ,4 frog/ver ,a HC@ 2,971,514

Patented Feb. 14, 1961 BRA-esmas Pearl J. Steinmetz, Evanston, lli.,assignor to The H. W. Gossard Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Filed Apr. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 805,792

Z Claims. (Cl. 12S-494) This invention relates to brassieres and it hasfor its object to provide `a novel and improved garment of this typewhich may be worn with perfect comfort and freedom of movement to thewearer under all conditions of use.

Another object of the invention is to provide an extremely light weightself-adjusting brassiere which is adapted to mold and support the bustsand at the same time `adjust itself in conformity with bending andstretching movements of the body.

Still another object is to provide a brassiere of the type specifiedwhich is simple in construction and is cheaper to manufacture thanprevious brassieres of comparable functional characteristics.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature ofthe invention is more fully disclosed.

The brassiere of the present invention comprises a front portion havinga pair of connected bust pockets preferably composed of soft inelasticfabric of generally rounded cup-shaped contour, and a marginal frontbody portion composed of two-way stretch elastic fabric which isstitched to the outer rounded edges of said bust pockets and forms aframe of two-way stretch fabric extending downwardly from the centralupper apexes of the bust pockets, down the outer sides thereof, andlongitudinally beneath said bust pockets.

Under-arm aps or end sections preferably of inelastic material arestitched to the outer side edges of the twoway stretch marginal frontbody portion. Conventional fastening means are provided for connectingthese end sections together at the back, and at least one of said endsections may have an elastic insert for tensioning the garmentresiliently upon the body. In the embodiment illustrated herein a narrowband of one-way longitudinally stretchable tape lines the lowerlongitudinal edge of the marginal two-way stretch front body portionbelow the bust pockets for fitting the brassiere snugly upon the ligure.

Shoulder straps preferably composed o-f inelastic tape each have one endsecured to an individual end section of the brassiere and the other endsecured to the twoway stretch elastic fabric at the central upper apexof an individual bust pocket, so that tension on said shoulder straps iscommunicated directly to said two-way stretch elastic fabric.

When the shoulder straps exert an upward pull on the central upperapexes of the brassiere, as when the wearer raises her arms or stretchesbackwardly, said shoulder straps exert not an upward pull directly onthe inelastic but pockets, but rather a pull on the two-way stretchelastic fabric which frames said bust pockets. Since the bottom(horizontal) edge of the brassiere beneath the lbust pockets is snuglyalbeit resiliently anchored in place on the body, the aforesaid upwardpull of the shoulder straps is distributed bias-wise over the two-waystretch fabric frame according to the direction and extent of said pull.

Thus, in the course of normal or even strenuous physical activity theapplication or release of any sort of tension on the two-way stretchfabric frame of the brassiere, whether due to bending, stretching,twisting or breathing, is compensated by an accommodating elon- `gatingor contracting adjustment of said frame which eliminates strain on thebusts and shoulders and insures perfect comfort and freedom of movementto the wearer in all positions of the body.

The various features and advantages of the invention are described morein detail in connection with a preferred embodiment illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, `in which: v

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a brassiere embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of said brassiere',

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the two-way stretchelastic fabric employed in the marginal front body poltion of thebrassiere;

Fig. 4 is a detail section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

The brassiere shown in the drawing comprises a front portion includingbust pockets 1 and 2 of soft inelastic fabric made in three pieces ofmaterial shaped and stitched as illustrated in a generally roundedcup-shaped contour and connected together by the narrow inelastic medianband 3.

A marginal front body portion composed of two-way stretch elastic netfabric, illustrated in Figs. l and 3 as being made in three pieces 4, 5and 6, is stitched to the outer edges of bust pockets 1 and 2, and formsa frame of two-way stretch fabric composed of a rst part extendingdownward and outward `from the central upper apexes 7 and 8 of each ofsaid bust pockets along the upper edges, a second part extendingdownward from the first part along the outer sides thereof and a thirdpart extending from the second part longitudinally all the way acrossbelow said bust pockets and their median band 3.

Under-arm aps or end sections 9 and 10 of inelastic fabric are stitchedto the outer side edges of the second parts marginal front body pieces 4and 5. The end section 10 has an elastic insert 12, and the two endsections have suitable `cooperating fastener members such as hooks andeyes for resiliently connecting the outer ends of said end sectionstogether iat the back of the brassiere when the Agarment is in wear."

The marginal front body portion of the brassiere may be composed lof anysuitable two-way stretch elastic fabric, for example the net fabricshown in Fig. 3 consisting of parallel elastic warp threads 13interwoven by the threads 14 in the open mesh structure illustrated,which is stretchable both horizontally and vertically as viewed in Fig`3.

A lining of narrow one-way longitudinally stretchable tape 15 isstitched to the lower longitudinal edge of the marginal body portion4-5-6 below the bust pockets 1 and 2 for yieldingly tensioning thebrassiere snugly upon the body beneath the busts.

Shoulder straps 16, preferably composed of inelastic tape with adjustingclasps 17, each have one end stitched to an individual end section 9 or10 of the brassiere, and the other end stitched to the two-way stretchelastic net fabric pieces 4 or 5 adjacent the central upper apex '7 or 8of an individual bust pocket 1 or 2 as illustrated in Figs. l and 2.

When in wear, the brassiere lits snugly but yieldingly and comfortablyon the body, the two-way stretch elastic of the marginal front bodyportion of the garment expanding and contracting easily as the wearerbreathes.

As will be apparent from Figs. l and 2, any upward pull on the shoulderstraps is applied directly to the twoway stretch elastic fabric of saidmarginal body portion which provides a bias pull insuring properautomatic adjustment, under-arm control, and complete shoulderstrap'comfort, as described above.

Although a specic embodiment is described and shown herein for purposesof illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that theinvention is capable of various modifications and adaptations within thescope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. A brassiere comprising a front portion having a pair OEE bust pocketscomposed of inelastic material, a median band of inelastic materialconnecting said bust pockets, a marginal front body portion composed oftwoway stretch elastic fabric secured to said bust pockets and having arst part extending from the central part of the upper edge of each ofthe bust pockets angularly downward and outward along said upper edge, asecond part extending from the rst part downwardly along the outer sideedge of the bust pocket and a third part eX- tending from said secondpart longitudinally below said bust pockets and said median band all theway across the space between the second parts and connected to the loweredges of said bust pockets and said median band, end sections secured tothe outer side edges of the second parts, means for resilientlyconnecting the outer ends of said end sections together at the back ofthe brassiere, and inelastic shoulder straps each having one end securedto one of the end sections and the other end secured to one of the firstparts adjacent the central upper edge of one of the bust pockets wherebytension on said shoulder strap is communicated directly to said two-waystretch elastic fabric.

2. In a brassiere claimed in claim 1, a lining of narrow one-Waylongitudinally stretchable tape stitched to the lower longitudinal edgeof said marginal body portion below said lbust pockets for yieldinglytensioning said brassiere snugly upon body.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,520,225 Scott-Elliot Aug. 29, 1950 2,691,166 Roth Oct. 12, 19542,719,975 Rosenthal Oct. 11, 1955 2,888,930 Coleman et al. June 2, 1959

